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Key events
Adam and Luba’s cha cha cha
Emmerdale actor Adam Thomas has the honour/poisoned chalice of opening the series. He hasn’t only been struggling with his rheumatoid arthritis in training but has been spotted wearing a wrist support, so let’s hope he’s not in too much pain.
Song: Waffle House by The Jonas Brothers, named after the restaurant where Kevin, Joe and Nick used to eat post-show. Shame it’s not called Wimpy or Greggs.
Our Strictly stars™
Alan “Deadly” Dedicoat, voice of the lottery balls, announces our couples for the first time this year. Lots of classy outfits. Annabel Croft nods to her tennis career in all-white Angela Ribbon is a vision in silver. Les Dennis looks like a snooker player.
Judges make their entrance
We go for the judgular with Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas. Shirley’s in Pepto Bismal pink. Motsi’s got her legs out. The boys are both in tuxes. Spins and cheesy grins all round.
Frockwatch
Here come our presenting pair, so time to compare their finery. Tess Daly is in PVC trousers and white shirt and a tie that looks like braces but isn’t. Claudia Winkleman is is in all black trousers and shirt with white detail. Fringe trimmed, too. Claudia wins by a mile.
Group number from the pros
We open with the professional troupe showing the terrified new celebrities how it’s done. A dramatic, moody routine begins at a suitably epic coastal location before switching to the Elstree Studios ballroom.
That’s enough from Jake Shears. Now it’s our first look at the new-look title sequence. High fives! Comedy moves! Eddie Kadi finger guns! Les Dennis slapstick! Angela Rippon’s leg! And a nice touch with the inclusion on absent pro Amy Dowden…
And we’re off!
Starting with a glossy VT introducing our 15 celebrities. Fancy!
Top up your drinks and take your sparkly sofa seats. We’re about to go over to Elstree Studios. After a quite exciting Doctor Who trailer, that is
Alan Carr’s Numberwang, more like.
I see tonight as our first proper dinner date with the 15 couples, after last week’s introductory drinkipoos. Will we end up sharing a chocolatey pudding and snogging at the bus-stop?
A mere five minutes now until the glittery ribbon gets snipped…
Are you enjoying Alan Car’s Picture Slam on BBC1? It’s Roy Walker’s Catchphrase for overly literal people.
The running time tonight is an epic 140 minutes. You’d get less jail time for a prison break strapped to the underside of a van. Probably.
Best stock up on fluids and comestibles. Ten minutes until choreographic kick-off…
Tonight’s 15 dances include a whopping five cha cha chas, plus two tangos and two quicksteps. Lots of opportunity to compare and contrast.
We’ll also be treated to our first paso doble (the drama!) and samba of the series, which is nothing if not ambitious. Fifteen minutes until showtime…
Let’s play week 1 bingo
I’ll be continuing the tradition of predicting on-screen happenings each week. Tick them off when you spot them! Take a drink for each! Fall off the sofa midway through the show and blame it on being “tired”! Here’s your 10-point checklist for tonight:
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Judges attempt a co-ordinated sit-down as they take their seats but one is a beat behind the rest
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A couple on the new-look titles give each other a high-five
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Shirley Ballas thanks the first pair to perform for “opening our show”
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Ginger Neil hogs the camera up on the Clauditorium
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Celebrity mentions their sore feet/aching muscles/Epsom salts/ice baths
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Craig’s first negative critique of the series gets booed and he gives the studio audience some panto-style lip
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Dianne Buswell refers to Bobby Brazier as “my little brother”
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Claudia pretends she fancies bandleader Dave Arch
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Celebrity mentions “the Strictly family” , before earnestly reiterating that “it really is a family”
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Tess exclaims “look at your little face!” after a celebrity dances
No elimination this weekend
Just a reminder of the deal tonight. The couples will be critiqued and marked by the judging panel for the first time. I can almost hear Craig sharpening his talons and buffing his “2” paddle from here.
There is no public vote yet. Instead the judges’ scores will be carried over to next week, when us viewers can vote for our favourites for the first time and the bottom two are consigned to the dreaded dance-off. So our pro-celeb pairs get two chances to impress before one of them is cruelly sent home. Any early thoughts on who it’ll be? I fear for Nikita Kanda and Jody Cundy…
Strictly 2023 goes live!
The glitterball is about to start spinning. Good evening all and welcome to the first live show of Strictly Come Dancing 2023. I’m Michael, your liveblogging dance partner. I hope you’ll watch along with me as this year’s sequin-spangled action begins in earnest.
After last week’s pre-recorded launch show, tonight our 15 newly formed pro-celebrity pairings hit the Elstree Studios ballroom floor for their first full routines together. They’ve been sweating away in the rehearsal rooms all week, marvelling at how much weight they’ve lost and grumbling about their sore feet. Now we get to see the fruits of their legwarmer-clad labours,
It’s showtime at 6.15pm on BBC One. I’ll be liveblogging from 5.45pm, providing build-up, rolling coverage, analysis, reaction and mild snark. So don flesh-coloured Spanx, lace up your dancing spats and see you on the sofa.
I’d love to hear from you too. You can tweet me @michaelhogan, email me michael.hogan.freelance@guardian.co.uk and the comments section below is back open for ballroom business. I’ll shimmy down every now and again to say a cheery “hiyaaa!” and gauge your reaction to the show. So please share your thoughts, no matter how random or trivial. I’m new here too, so don’t be shy if you’re a first-time caller.
Snacks, drinks and second screens to hand? I hope so. Nearly time to, yes, staaaaaart dancing!
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